PORTSMOUTH, VA. Tanker sinks after explosion

At least three of 27 crew members were killed.
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) -- A tanker carrying 3.5 million gallons of industrial ethanol exploded and sank about 50 miles off the Virginia coast Saturday, the Coast Guard said. At least three people died and rescue crews were searching for most of the ship's 27 crew members.
Two people died among the eight transported by helicopter to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, spokeswoman Vicky Gray said. The other six men were being evaluated, she said.
Robert Wocubik, a patient care supervisor at Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin, Md., said one man "involved in the accident" died at the hospital, but would not say whether he was a crew member. Two rescue divers were treated there for minor injuries, he added.
Call for help
The Bow Mariner, a 570-foot tanker flying a Singapore flag, made an emergency call just after 6 p.m., saying there had been an explosion on board, said Petty Officer Stacey Pardini of the Coast Guard Atlantic area in Portsmouth, Va.
The explosion occurred about 50 miles east of Chincoteague, Va., after a fire started on the deck of the ship, said Lt. Chris Shaffer of Ocean City (Md.) Emergency Services.
"When the rescue divers got on the scene the fuel tanker was on fire, sinking and there was people in the water," Shaffer said. He added that the six survivors rescued were in critical condition.
Three helicopters, three Coast Guard boats and a C-130 plane were searching for survivors.
Coast Guard Senior Chief John Moss said late Saturday night that nine crew members were accounted for, including seven survivors. One survivor was picked up by a commercial fishing boat, he said.
Cause unknown
"We have no indication that this was anything other than an accident at this point," Moss said, adding that he didn't know what caused the explosion.
Moss said the Coast Guard did not know how much of the ethanol was released into the water.
Betty Turner, a nursing supervisor at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, Md., said her hospital had been notified to expect a victim who may have suffered burns.